Headset hillwalkers: Veterans with sight loss helped to see the great outdoors
Imagine being a keen hillwalker who is suddenly unable to enjoy the great outdoors due to sight loss. Now a charity is helping visually impaired people to climb mountains again, with the help of 3D technology.
Wearing virtual reality headsets, Armed Forces veterans are bagging Munros and exploring Scotland’s most scenic spots through an initiative run by Sight Scotland Veterans. It’s another way in which the pioneering sight loss charity is improving lives.
Avid hillwalker Jason Turnbull is the man behind the initiative. He captures 3D footage which the veterans then explore through headsets at Sight Scotland Veterans’ Hawkhead Centre in Paisley.
The former healthcare support worker has been based at Hawkhead since it was opened five years ago. A few months ago, the first VR headset was installed in the centre’s IT suite and already it is having a positive impact on users as it allows them to access Scotland’s great outdoors, just like they used to. Turnbull, who is responsible for organising activities for the veterans, was quick to take on the challenge of capturing footage for the VR headsets. He explained: “I had previous experience with VR headsets so I was very keen to try it at Hawkhead.
“I watched 360-degree videos on YouTube and thought to myself, ‘I can do better than that’. I bought a 360-degree camera and took it up the hills with me.
“Then I began showing the veterans who are keen hillwalkers, and those who weren’t, the footage – and there was a very positive reaction. They said it was like being back on the hills.”
The VR lenses let the veterans experience the footage just as vividly as people without vision loss. Turnbull said: “I have been going around as many Munros as I can so they can come with me. I am starting with the centrally located ones, in and around Crianlarich, like Ben More and Stob Binnein.
“I edit the footage and show the veterans when I come back, and they are saying it is absolutely unbelievable.
“It’s reawakening something in them. It is so rewarding to watch them and see their reaction. Perhaps it has been many years since they’ve climbed that hill but they realise where they are.
“VR allows them to revisit somewhere that was special to them. It triggers all those memories and sparks positive feelings.”
Soon, Turnbull will capture footage of the West Highland Way when he walks part of the famous route alongside a veteran. He will then publish the videos on his YouTube channel, alongside footage of his other hill climbs.
His colleague Brian Wilson, who introduced virtual reality headsets at Sight Scotland Veterans’ Linburn Centre in Edinburgh four years ago, has seen the different ways in which VR can be used for entertainment, therapy and shopping, and how the technology can improve veterans’ wellbeing and self-confidence.
Wilson, who heads up the IT suite at the Linburn Centre and recently completed a VR therapy course, explained: “In many instances, it enables veterans to see again, which is just amazing.
“As the screens are very close to their eyes, and includes large, bold images, it helps people with low vision see better and up close. Some of them find it quite overwhelming the first time they experience it. It opens up a whole new world up to a person with a visual impairment.
“It is fully immersive and allows them to completely forget about the outside world. They can forget about their eye condition or any other problems or stresses they have and just relax and enjoy the experience.”
As well as accessing VR technology, the veterans also learn how to use computers, receive training using Synapptic tablets and smartphones, and are kept up to date with apps.
Wilson added: “Technology is just so important for a person with a vision impairment.”